Seattle area gets driest November in over 40 years

Western Washington is infamous for its fall and winter rain, especially in November, a month that averages over six-and-a-half inches of rain in Seattle. That was flipped on its head this year, though, with the Seattle area getting its driest November in 43 years.
Light snow briefly arrives in Western Washington

When the book closed on the month, just 1.71 inches of rain had fallen at Sea-Tac (where Seattle’s weather is tracked). The last time we had a November that dry was 1976.

DRIEST NOVEMBER SINCE THE ELECTION OF JIMMY CARTER
Just 1.71” of rain fell at Sea-Tac this month. That’s the lowest amount logged in a #Seattle November since 1976, when a Georgian won the White House.
November norm is 6.57 inches.
— Seattle Weather Blog (@KSeattleWeather) December 1, 2019

Dry weather was pervasive across Washington too, with Spokane getting just .68 inches of rain, its lowest total since 1993. Meanwhile, Bellingham saw its 6th driest November, Hoquiam had its 2nd driest, Olympia had its 3rd driest, and Quillayute had its 5th driest. In total, Sea-Tac’s November was its 4th driest on record.
Showers are expected to move into the Seattle area this week, but beyond that, University of Washington climate scientist Cliff Mass predicts more dry weather to follow. That’s despite December typically being the wettest month of the year for the region.
Seattle winter could be much snowier than usual
“What about the future? Amazingly, more of the same,” he said in a recent blog post. “Take a look at the latest European Center precipitation